NASA has emailed a wrench to astronauts in space

Responding to International Space Station (ISS) astronauts’ need for a wrench, NASA solved the problem by emailing a digital file to the ISS. The astronauts then 3D printed the tool.

In a post on Backchannel, Mike Chen, founder of Made In Space explained how the process worked. Made in Space is a Silicon Valley startup that built the 3D printer that was shipped to the ISS in September. In November, the first-ever 3D-printed part was, yes, made in space.